2013 in Music: An Outsider's Opinion

Is that title ok? Is it pretentious? I'd like to think not. I'm not saying I was above it all, I was just outside of it all. Doing this thing I've been doing on this blog I was much less invested in the music of this year than I have in years past. It will be funny when I finally reach 2013 in that other project, because the memory will be that I was focusing on older music at the time.

Not that I can consider myself a huge outsider. While I was less invested than usual, I still got a lot of music and tried to listen to it when it made sense to. In between years and whatnot. There was a lot of music I was looking forward to this year, and I couldn't just leave it alone. I just only have a few listens through of each of the albums I took seriously. And have less than the last few.

But yeah, anticipation. That has to be the theme of this year. Highly anticipated releases in some ways or others. Strange that many favorites were surprises.

I'm going to take a cue from last year and not try to rank anything. I'm just going to write about whatever I feel like sharing an opinion about. And the top top releases, I'll put stars in front of them showing my enthusiasm. But there were some overrated things I also want to write about. And other things I'm sure. Enjoy!

In Alphabetical Order Because I Am Serious About Not Ranking Things:

• ***Arcade Fire starts with an A! Early hype was "Arcade Fire is recording with James Murphy!!" Then there was the whole shrouded in mystery thing. And then a TV blitz. And it was just too much. Funny thing about this record. I love it in spite of all of that. I need to hear it more but I quite enjoy it. And I've complained in the past about them showing too much ambition, trying to make big statements and such (particularly on Neon Bible) when they were so young, and I so appreciated The Suburbs because they were taking a step back in that department. But here, they shot for the stars. And the results are fantastic. It takes a couple listens (honestly I didn't really like any of the songs the first time I heard any of them on their various TV appearances), but now songs like "Joan of Arc" and "Here Comes The Night Time" have pulled me in, and I discover more joy in this each time I put it on.
• ***Crooks On Tape just snuck up on me with their debut album Fingerprint. I've been a John Schmersal fan for a while now. After I discovered Brainiac in my early college years I was obsessed with his very own blend of delightful weirdness and undeniable catchiness. Enon became one of my "top 3" bands for the longest time past that, and they kind of mysteriously stopped doing things, and I tried to watch for any new Schmersal projects but didn't hear about anything. Until a week before this album dropped. It is almost everything I love about Enon! A wide variety, a respectable amount of experimentation and weirdness, and the catchiness. Oh, the catchiness. I have a new band to try to get my friends to love as much as I do!
• **David Bowie managed to make a giant comeback without much hype about it. I need to give it even more time than I did, but I do quite like all of the material from the original album, bonus tracks, and bonus EP. That James Murphy remix for "Love is Lost" on the bonus EP is epic and I don't take that word lightly. But it's everything you would want from a combination of Bowie and Murphy.
• *Deltron 3030 put out Event 2. Now there's a release with a buildup. The first album came out in 2000 and I first started hearing about the sequel being worked on in 2006. That means the time it was hyped for for me personally (I know the artists didn't spend all this time building it up, I just got very excited when I heard about it and kept trying to find more information) was longer than the time between the original release and the start of the hype. As the release date approached and I didn't hear much from Koala or Automator and I got less and less interested in Del's solo material, I started dreading this. I worried it would suck, my expectations dropped considerably, but I still knew I had to get it. And I was just relieved that it was good! I guess the critics didn't care enough about it when it came time to make year end lists, but damnit if Automator didn't create some more catchy beats here! And the David Cross/Amber Tamblyn skits are mildly entertaining even after quite a few listens. And all the guests bring it and Del brings it and nothing will ever meet that original Deltron album but this is a very worthy successor.
• *Elvis Costello working with The Roots? Do You Want More??! Get Happy! This one was an odd one, this Wise Up Ghost. Again, highly anticipated for me, as Elvis Costello is my #1 all time #1. And The Roots are The Roots! And for as restless as the chameleon Mr Costello is musically, it felt like he was treading water on the last couple albums. So ?uestlove was just the one to shake things up. Things never live up to expectations but still, this is a good shake up of some old Costello lyrics and new context and yet another dynamite ballad from the master, "Tripwire."
• ***Janelle Monae is The Electric Lady. She got considerably more popular this year, didn't she? That "alternative reality pop music" I spoke of a couple years ago may be coming to fruition. I don't know if this album quite measures up to The Archandroid in consistency, but its bangers are as hot as the bangers of its predecessor. It's just so damned front loaded. Hook 'em with the hook, hold 'em with the heartbreak and love ballads. She makes it work but I just preferred the ballads of old a little more. Might be the lack of commitment on my part though.
• Ok, everybody putting Yeezus on the top of their list makes me feel like this year was subpar or something. I was so excited for this after seeing him on Saturday Night Live, because it was (one of?) the biggest stars in pop music doing something abrasive and angry and anti-commercial and using his talent for good. But then I got the album and it just fell short for me. And the more I listened to it the more I wanted to just listen to Saul Willams' Trent Reznor produced album from a few years ago. Something with an actual message and not just bitching. Something with anger instead of hate. Something with the passion I thought I heard when I first heard those first couple songs.
• ****My Bloody Valentine killed it with their first album in forever (making it highly anticipated) and its surprise release (undercutting any building anticipation that would have formed). This cuts to my soul, man! Like Radiohead. And it beats "chillwave" at its own game by bringing a rock-oriented version of that atmosphere (that mbv had been integral in creating in the first place all those years ago). I don't know how to write about this but this might be #1 if I were keeping track.
• ***Not only do The National grow on me when I listen to an album over and over, but they grow on me with every album they release. The odd time signatures on this one, the chorus about being the television version of someone with a broken heart, I keep liking every album of theirs a bit more than its predecessor. Not sure if that's just me...
• ***And Okkervil River continues to be underrated forever as they just up and put out another masterpiece this year and nobody seems to remember it come year-end time. I mean, it's fine, I appreciate that I can see them at places like The Marquis instead of having to pay for The Fillmore.
• Another highly anticipated one was Talib Kweli's Prisoner of Conscious. When I first heard about it it seemed like it was going to be a very personal album for him, a grand statement that would push him to a new level. There were even a couple albums that came out before that, so I figured he was saving something for PoC. But then it just came out without fanfare and something about it just isn't what I hoped for.
• **Weird, this Yo La Tengo album doesn't have any songs over 10 minutes! Not even over 7 minutes! What we get is the usual YLT catchiness and diversity and they even sneak some of that feel-goodness that only they ever really accomplish for me, usually over the course of an epic long track. In this case it's over some short pop songs, but it still works.

I have less to say about these but still something:

• !!! THR!!!ER They have some good beats here, and this album served as the soundtrack to many runs this year very effectively. Highly energetic, singing about sweating, other catchiness. Pitchfork complained about the lack of huge builds and drops a la "Intensified" from their first album, and sure, those would have pushed this over the top, but this album shows a maturity and songwriting craft that was very conspicuously absent from their older material.
• Aceyalone's Leanin' On Slick was kind of a sequel to The Lonely Ones, one of my favorite random hip hop experiments. But this one felt like it should have come before The Lonely Ones, because it was less of a stretch from his "normal" material.
• Bilal. I wanted to love A Love Surreal but instead I merely like it. There's plenty to like on this record and he continues to be quite underrated.
• I like the idea of the Daft Punk album and it took me longer than it should have to get over "Get Lucky."
• Danny Brown...yeah I got it because it was cheap and I think I like it but I didn't have time to listen to it enough to form a strong opinion of it. Maybe it will be spoken of highly when the ol' EfaE catches up to 2013...
• Death Grips put out another free album in case people forgot about a true bombastic/abrasive/angry hip hop artist in the wake of Yeezus...
• The Ex & Brass Unbound. Enormous Door. What else can The Ex do these days? Bring in a brass band! It's a killer combination.
• How about that Justin Timberlake? Fun guy.
• Man or Astro-Man made a triumphant return as well this year! Defcon 5...4...3...2...1 is that same old band that's been consistently awesome with every release.
• Hey everyone! Neko Case is still amazing! Bonus points for the cover of the "other" Nico!
• of Montreal in a song format must leave less of an impression on me than their wild and crazy concepts, but I still like that they did what they did with this one.
• I dug that Phosphorescent one, it reminded me of what I like about Fleet Foxes.
• The Pixies have to have their name on something from this century, and something without Kim. I kind of dig that "Indie Cindy" song but for the most part this new EP sounds just like a Frank Black solo album. But what else are they supposed to sound like at this point? 
• Run The Jewels. El-P and Killer Mike just having a good time. Yes please.
• I feel like She & Him have reached a new level of confidence and swagger with Volume 3. I like it.

I admit I missed the boat on...

• Savages. That was on my list all year and I never did get it. I know, it was the best.
• Vampire Weekend. I'm ok with Pitchfork calling it album of the year if only because I'm sick of seeing Kanye top every list. I used to have something against them but I think I'd actually like their new material now.
• Where CHVRCHES as great as people have been saying?
• Disclosure?
• Who are all these young whippersnappers?

I'll be back in a bit with something older than me.

An Ear For An Era: 1981

Put in some grand statement here later. 1981 is the year my brother comes from. And more punk and other stuff that was decidedly not punk. Is that good enough? I think so...

In high school I was obsessed with Minor Threat. I even did the straight edge thing when it didn't matter (i.e. when I wasn't 21 yet). I judged people that drank underage. So when I was getting into punk rock and discovered Minor Threat they became my favorite hardcore band. They had two EPs in 1981, both very solid. There was a self titled one and In My Eyes. This coming up early on in the rotation was very energizing and brought me right back there. In My Eyes has two of their classic songs "In My Eyes" and "Out of Step (With the World)" but the self titled debut is front-to-back hardcore brilliance. I admit that it's weird for me to separate these out because I know it as the "Complete Discography" album and I always listened to the full thing, but the tracks that ran through as I listened to just the first release they ever had were full throttle, 8 songs in 9 minutes, and it all begins here:

Minor Threat "Filler"

So that was the DC scene. Let's go to the west coast. I finally got to catch up with Black Flag, who I know went back to punk's beginnings, but the earliest material I had available was Damaged. I hate that I keep saying classic but that's what this is (Kill yr idols!). More music to throw yourself around the room to. This video is one I saw back in those high school days on a show called Punk TV that aired late at night. It's so dated but it's so enjoyable...

Black Flag "TV Party"

The Cramps' second album already kind of had them slowing down. Psychedelic Jungle just kind of went by. There was stuff on the album I quite enjoyed but it was more in a slow, brooding way as opposed to the unhinged nature of their early stuff. Kind of like when The Stooges went slow. But someone else took over in most evil sounding group in punk. Or post punk or whatever. I'm talking about Nick Cave's early group The Birthday Party. Prayers on Fire shows the darkest side of Cave, before he developed his cool. Here is a song where he sounds like Zorak, the music sounds vaguely jazzy, but entirely straight from Hell. Maybe this was my favorite album of 1981?

The Birthday Party "Nick The Stripper"

Because I have no better place to put this, AC/DC! Is this my first actual metal I've covered here? Yes besides a couple mentions of Judas Priest and Ozzy. For Those About To Rock We Salute You is the only AC/DC album I own, so I'll just talk about what I like about them. The drums. The beat. It sounds classic. Like it's from another era in another dimension. It doesn't seem like typical metal drumming to me. The guitars are metal, the drums are some sort of alternate classic rock. The vocals bring them together.

And now new wave because why not. Depeche Mode's Speak & Spell is so much poppier than the Depeche Mode I typically associate with the name (and I like to call them The 'Peche). Did you know Violator came out way in 1989? We won't get to that for a bit. But this is when they were one of those new wave bands cashing in more on dance beats than darkness. I can't resist the catchiness of the popular "Just Can't Get Enough" and this one:

Depeche Mode "Boys Say Go!"

The poppy new wave group of choice for me for 1981 is definitely Soft Cell. In the early aughts when I was all into electroclash and dancing and such, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret was my go-to record for dance mixes and getting excited to go out and requests. Sure, the "Tainted Love" cover is popular enough to call them a one hit wonder, but there's so much great sleaze to this album, it's enticing and sexy and danceable in all the best ways. I've long wanted to create a mashup of Franz Ferdinand's "The Dark of the Matinee" and this song for a sexy jaunt in the cinema:

Soft Cell "Seedy Films"

How about hip hop? If the day comes that I have a child, and that child one day goes to school, I might have to play the Connecticut hip hop novelty gem for them "Get Up And Go To School" by Pookey Blow from that Third Unheard compilation I mentioned last time. Unfortunately that song is not on youtube. But Afrika Bambaataa & The Jazzy 5 kept reminding me of Jurassic 5 (I'm guessing Jurassic 5 was aimed partially at reminding people of The Jazzy 5) with this song. Fine, we'll do an actual great song!

Afrika Bambaataa & The Jazzy 5 "Jazzy Sensation"

I don't have a lot of ska from 1981, but I have one of my favorite 2-Tone era songs, which was released only as a single. It's been in some movies (Shaun of the Dead used it quite well) and can put me in certain movie moods, but it's still such a great stand-alone song that I have to share.

The Specials "Ghost Town"

And now we have to talk about Elvis Costello. He put out two albums in 1981. First was Trust, a favorite of many but one of my less favored in his overall library. Something about the cover with the sunglasses, the beats used, it seems like he's just trying to be cool in 1981. It feels more dated than the rest of his material. It still has some great songs and I feel like I need to give it more spins to fully appreciate it. I always love the ballads. Particularly "Different Finger." But there was another album: "WARNING: this album contains country & western music and may cause offence to narrow minded listeners." Almost Blue was his country covers album. And kind of like My Aim Is True, I kind of preferred the bonus disc. This bonus disc had 27 tracks. Apparently he recorded a lot of country covers (ok some of these are live performances, some are countrified versions of songs he would later release in a different style, and some tracks appear multiple times in different versions). One of my favorite Costello songs is "Stranger In The House," an original country tune that has appeared on several bonus discs of his tracks from earlier in his career and never on a proper LP. But what I tend to like about cover albums and/or genre-concept albums like this is what it opens up in future released by the artist. This is the predecessor for my favorite Elvis Costello album King of America (coming in 1986!), and it also paves the way quite heavily to his next album of original material Imperial Bedroom (which is another favorite). I think I just like him doing ballads, and covering all these sad country songs sparked the same piece of the songwriter that had originally written "Stranger In The House" in the mid 70s. So...good ballads coming up thanks to Almost Blue (which is also the name of one of my favorite ballads by him, coming up on Imperial Bedroom).

Elvis Costello "A Good Year For The Roses"

Some other great country was coming out. I'm not sure what the deal was with country around this time. But the outlaws were chuggin' away makin' great tunes. George Jones had "If Drinkin' Don't Kill Me (Her Memory Will)" and Emmylou had this heartbreaking (big surprise!) "Colors of Your Heart," which does not seem to be on youtube.

Also to Say...

• Bob & Doug McKenzie's album The Great White North was from this year. I just have a couple tracks from it. But those dudes're funny.
• The first stuff I have from Daniel Johnston from the Welcome to My World compilation popped up. "Living Life" is a great track but I know even better is on its way.
• Yep, cheesy pop was a very big thing. This year brings us "Endless Love" by Diana Ross & Lionel Richie, such Hall & Oates gems as "You Make My Dreams Come True" and "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)," Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'," Phil Collins' great "In The Air Tonight," 
• Just the year after Lennon passed, George Harrison released "All Those Years Ago." Ah, memories...soon I will reach a time in this of where I had memories.
• One of my favorite 80s pop/new wave/whatever songs is "Don't You Want Me" by The Human League. Good show.
• Joan Jett & The Blackhearts' I Love Rock & Roll means we are close to Weird Al's infiltration of this blog. I for one welcome it. Also this album is quite enjoyable.
• The great Freddie Mercury-David Bowie duet "Under Pressure" by Queen was released as a single. I might talk about it more when I get to the album next year, but for now...remember how great this song is???
• The Ramones kept doing what they'd been doing. I don't have the album Pleasant Dreams but I have the track "The KKK Took My Baby Away," a classic despite coming out all the way in the 80s.
• "Super Freak."
• "Start Me Up."
• Rush! Classic year for Rush. "Tom Sawyer" and "Limelight." If I felt like looking up what album this was from I'm sure it's one I'd enjoy quite a bit.

Next Time...

More great Afrikaa Bambaataa! More great punk (Bad Brains are introduced! So are The Descendents The Best Pop Punk Band Of All Time! And Flipper and The Misfits and The Vandals and More great Clash for maybe the last time with Combat Rock! )! Some more ska (Bad Manners! Madness has their biggest hit!), 80s goodness from Billy Idol, Bruce Springsteen (Nebraska, his best album??), another early favorite Elvis Costello Album, MAIDEN, Art from Laurie Anderson and a certain young band calling itself Sonic Youth, a belated farewell to Lou Reed (thanks to his classic The Blue Mask), and holy crap indie rock is a thing because The Violent Femmes are now a thing with an album.

And pop classics 1999 and...Thriller. 

The last year before I existed.

But before all that I'm going to take a break here for December. I'm going to attempt to make sense of 2013 and come up with a list of what was good and stuff so December 2013 is dedicated to 2013. I'll make a post about that but AEFAE will see you in 2014 for 1982 if that makes sense. 1982 looks enticing though.